Bailey Howell's Celtics Years

Bailey Howell (born January 20, 1937) was a professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who spent four seasons with the Boston Celtics from 1966 to 1970. Acquired in a trade from the Baltimore Bullets, Howell arrived in Boston during the final phase of one of the most dominant dynasties in American professional sports history. He won two NBA Championships with the Celtics, in 1968 and 1969, playing alongside Bill Russell, John Havlicek, and Sam Jones, among others. Across his four seasons in Boston, Howell averaged 18.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, numbers that placed him among the more productive forwards in the league during that period.

Howell's time in Boston coincided with the final years of his six-time NBA All-Star career. He had received all six of those selections before arriving in Boston, with appearances in the All-Star Game in 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, and 1966, the last coming while he was still with Baltimore. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997, an honor reflecting his place among the significant players of his generation. His Celtics years are not a footnote to the dynasty. They are part of it.

Early Life and Career Before Boston

Bailey Howell was born on January 20, 1937, in Middleton, Tennessee. He played college basketball at Mississippi State University, where he became one of the most accomplished players in program history. A two-time All-American, Howell set scoring records at Mississippi State that stood for years, establishing himself as one of the top college forwards in the country during the late 1950s. His combination of size at six feet seven inches, athleticism, and skill at the forward position drew significant attention heading into the 1959 NBA Draft, where the Detroit Pistons selected him second overall. The Howell Award, presented annually to Mississippi's top college basketball player, is named in his honor, a recognition of the lasting mark he left on the state's basketball history.

Howell spent five seasons in Detroit, from 1959 to 1964, establishing himself as a legitimate scoring and rebounding threat in a league that included Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Oscar Robertson. He was named an NBA All-Star six times across his career, with his selection streak running from 1961 through 1966, a stretch that spanned his final years in Detroit and his time with the Baltimore Bullets. In 1964, the Pistons traded him to Baltimore, where he played two productive seasons before the Celtics acquired him in the summer of 1966. Boston was looking to add depth at the forward position as the roster aged, and Howell, still in his late twenties, fit the need precisely. Red Auerbach's eye for the right player at the right moment had not faded.

Trade to Boston

The Celtics acquired Howell from the Baltimore Bullets in 1966 in a trade that sent Mel Counts to Baltimore. It was a straightforward exchange of a younger center for a proven scoring forward, and it reflected Auerbach's understanding of what the aging Celtics roster actually needed. Centers weren't the shortage. Russell was still the best defensive player in the game. What Boston lacked was a reliable forward who could produce points on a nightly basis without requiring the ball to be built around him.

Howell arrived as a player with seven professional seasons behind him and a reputation built on consistency rather than spectacle. He wasn't a flashy player. He didn't need to be. His value was in his ability to score from the forward position, defend competently, and rebound in traffic, qualities that fit cleanly into what Russell's teams had always valued. The trade proved to be one of the quieter but more effective moves of the Auerbach era, delivering two championships' worth of forward production at a cost that, in retrospect, looks like a bargain.

History

The Celtics of the late 1960s were a team in the final phase of their greatest dynasty. Bill Russell, who served as player-coach from 1966 onward, had already led the franchise to nine NBA championships before Howell arrived. The run wasn't finished yet. It wouldn't end until Russell retired after the 1969 championship, and Howell was present for both of the titles that capped that era.

Howell's role in those championship seasons was that of a dependable second-tier scorer who could be counted on for 18 to 20 points on a given night. He wasn't the focal point of the offense. Russell, Havlicek, and Sam Jones handled that responsibility. But Howell's ability to score consistently from the forward position relieved pressure on the team's primary options and gave opponents an additional defensive assignment. That kind of versatility matters in a seven-game playoff series.

His coaches with the Celtics were, first, Arnold "Red" Auerbach in an administrative capacity, with Russell handling on-court coaching decisions as player-coach, and later Tom Heinsohn, who took over after Russell retired in 1969. Howell played one season under Heinsohn before finishing his career with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1970-71.

The 1966-67 season, Howell's first in Boston, was one of the few during the Russell era in which the Celtics did not win a championship. The Philadelphia 76ers, led by Wilt Chamberlain, won the title that year. The Celtics responded. Back-to-back championships followed in 1968 and 1969, and Howell's contributions across both playoff runs were integral to closing them out.

1967-68 Championship Season

Howell's second season in Boston was his most significant in terms of team achievement. The Celtics entered the 1967-68 season as a team with something to prove, having been beaten by Philadelphia the previous year. Russell, coaching and playing simultaneously under unusual pressure, kept the roster focused. Howell averaged 19.8 points per game that season, his highest single-season output as a Celtic, while also contributing 8.7 rebounds per game. In the playoffs, he provided consistent production through each round as Boston eliminated Philadelphia in the Eastern Division Finals before defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in the 1968 NBA Finals. It was Russell's tenth championship as a player and the first of two Howell would win.

1968-69 Championship Season

The 1968-69 season brought the dynasty to its close, and Howell was present for the finish. The Celtics, aging but still capable, navigated through the Eastern playoffs to reach the Finals against Los Angeles. The series went seven games. Howell averaged 16.1 points per game during the regular season and continued to contribute in the postseason as the Celtics defeated the Lakers in Game 7 on the road at the Forum, a result that surprised many observers who had expected the younger, more talented Lakers to prevail. Russell announced his retirement at the conclusion of that series, ending an era that Howell had been part of for its final two championships. The Celtics wouldn't win another title for seven years.

Post-Boston Career and Retirement

After the Celtics transitioned to a rebuilding phase following Russell's retirement, Howell played one final season under Tom Heinsohn in 1969-70 before the organization moved on to younger players. He was then acquired by the Philadelphia 76ers, for whom he played the 1970-71 season before retiring from professional basketball entirely. His career totals across twelve professional seasons included 17,770 points and 9,383 rebounds, numbers that placed him among the more productive forwards of his era. He retired without the public profile of some of his contemporaries but with a record that speaks clearly enough on its own.

Geography

The Celtics' home during Howell's tenure was the Boston Garden, not the TD Garden, which wasn't built until 1995, more than two decades after Howell left the organization. The original Boston Garden, located on Causeway Street in Boston's West End neighborhood, opened in 1928 and served as the Celtics' home court from the franchise's founding through 1995. It was a building with a distinct character: narrow seats, uneven sightlines in some sections, and a parquet floor that became one of the most recognizable surfaces in American sports. Opposing teams routinely described the atmosphere as difficult.

The parquet floor itself was a product of wartime material shortages. When the Celtics first moved into the Garden, hardwood was scarce, so the floor was assembled from short pieces of wood that wouldn't have been sufficient for standard court construction. The result was a surface with dead spots, areas where the ball wouldn't bounce predictably, that Celtics players learned to use to their advantage. Howell, as a forward who didn't rely primarily on a ball-handling game, was less affected by those quirks than opposing guards might have been. Still, the floor was part of the Celtics' identity during his years there.

Boston's compact urban geography shaped the Celtics' relationship with the city in practical ways. The Garden was accessible via the MBTA, and the surrounding neighborhoods, including the West End and North Station area, were central to the city's working-class identity during the 1960s. Player appearances and community events were a regular part of how Celtics players connected with fans during this period, and Howell participated in those activities throughout his time with the team.

Culture

The Celtics of the late 1960s existed within a particular moment in American professional basketball. The league was smaller than it is today, with fewer teams and a tighter concentration of talent. Boston was a city with deep sports loyalties and a fan base that understood basketball at a level shaped by decades of championship success. Howell arrived in a city where winning wasn't just a source of pride. It was the expectation.

That expectation shaped the locker room. Russell set standards for preparation and competitive intensity that didn't allow for casual professionalism. Howell, who had come from Detroit and Baltimore without ever playing on a championship team, adapted to those standards and produced at the highest level of his career as a result. His six All-Star selections, all earned before his Boston years, showed that he was already an established star when he arrived. What Boston gave him was something he hadn't had before: a championship environment.

The broader NBA in the late 1960s was also changing. Expansion teams were broadening the sport's geographic reach, and the league was becoming more athletic and more competitive in ways that placed new demands on veterans. The Celtics, as the league's most decorated franchise, were central to professional basketball's public identity during this period. Howell's presence on those rosters placed him at the center of the sport's most prominent organization during one of its formative decades.

Off the court, Howell was known as a serious, professional presence. He wasn't a flamboyant personality, and his public profile reflected that. His reputation rested on what he did during games, which is ultimately the standard by which professional athletes are fairly judged.

Playing Style

Howell was a versatile forward standing six feet seven inches tall who played with a physical, interior-oriented style that suited the demands of the late 1960s NBA. He wasn't a finesse player. His scoring came primarily from post moves, offensive rebounding, and midrange shots close to the basket, and he was durable enough to log significant minutes throughout his career. His career rebounding average of 9.9 per game shows a player who competed hard on the boards regardless of matchup.

Within the Celtics' system, Howell fit naturally into a role that required him to score consistently without demanding the ball be designed around him. Russell's teams were never built to isolate one offensive player. They shared the ball, ran the floor, and exploited defensive breakdowns created by Russell's interior dominance. Howell's ability to convert when the ball found him, whether in the post or on a cut to the basket, made him a clean fit for a system that rewarded efficiency over individual volume.

Legacy and Recognition

Bailey Howell was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997, nearly three decades after his retirement. The induction acknowledged a career that included two NBA championships, six All-Star selections, and consistent production across twelve professional seasons.<ref>"Bailey Howell", Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame